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ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Technology trailblazer Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) is accelerating its quest for digital dominance in the restaurant industry and continuing its investment in developing platforms using artificial intelligence (AI) by launching a voice recognition application to take telephone orders coming into its stores.

The global market share leader in pizza was the first to introduce a voice recognition app that conducted a retail transaction when it launched its virtual ordering assistant, DOM, in 2014. Today, Domino's conducts more than 65 percent of its sales in the U.S. via numerous digital platforms.

"DOM was a key milestone not only for us, but for voice recognition technology in general," said J. Patrick Doyle, CEO and president of Domino's. "DOM was also the public face of our initial investment in artificial intelligence. Voice is a more natural way for people to interact with technology and that's why we have been investing in AI for more than half a decade.

"We believe natural voice recognition is the future, as seen by the rise in virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Home. More importantly, artificial intelligence provides great learning platforms that will enable us to do more to deliver convenience for our customers and better job experiences for our team members," Doyle added. "With DOM on the phones, our AnyWare ordering technology and plans we have for future in-store technology, our goal is to one day be 100 percent digital."

DOM Voice Recognition Taking Telephone Orders DOM is currently being tested on the phones in 20 stores across the U.S. and Domino's plans to expand the platform to more stores in the coming months.

"While many of our orders come via digital platforms, there are still millions of customers who like to call in their orders directly to their local stores," said Dennis Maloney, Domino's chief digital officer. "DOM can now take those orders, freeing up our store team members to focus on preparing orders and serving customers already in the lobby."

Domino's first tested DOM for phoned-in carryout orders in a few of its company-owned stores. Initial response from customers and team members was positive.

"Store team members like DOM," said Nicole Prokopczyk, Domino's manager of corporate operations in Virginia. "They are focusing on providing better service to in-store customers while our pizza makers are concentrating on what they do best – making great-tasting pizzas."

DOM can also help customers determine where their orders are in the process.

"Some calls to the stores are from customers who have already ordered," said Maloney. "Based on the phone number, this system will automatically determine if this is a new call or a follow-up. If it's a follow-up call, DOM will act as a version of Domino's Tracker and provide customers with the information they're looking for."

Domino's Tracker was another restaurant industry first launched by Domino's in 2008.

About Domino's Pizza®Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world based on retail sales, with a significant business in both delivery and carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 14,800 stores in over 85 markets. Domino's had global retail sales of over $12.2 billion in 2017, with more than $5.9 billion in the U.S. and more than $6.3 billion internationally. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Domino's had global retail sales of nearly $4.0 billion, with nearly $1.9 billion in the U.S. and over $2.1 billion internationally. Its system is comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for over 97% of Domino's stores as of the fourth quarter of 2017. Emphasis on technology innovation helped Domino's achieve more than half of all global retail sales in 2017 from digital channels, primarily online ordering and mobile applications. In the U.S., Domino's generates over 60% of sales via digital channels and has produced several innovative ordering platforms, including Google Home, Facebook Messenger, Apple Watch, Amazon Echo, Twitter and text message using a pizza emoji. In late 2017, as part of an industry-first collaboration with Ford Motor Company, Domino's began a meaningful test of delivery using self-driving vehicles.